Why is m slope of a line

I had never thought of this. I will now never stop thinking about this. Damn you, man! Monday, December 14, Why m for Slope? Question: Why do we use m for the slope of a line? Michael Sullivan's College Algebra 8th Ed.

Investigate the origin of this symbolism. Begin by consulting a French dictionary and looking up the French word monter. Write a brief essay on your findings. Of course, "monter" is a French verb which means "to climb" or "to go up".

But others disagree. Miller has undertaken a detailed study of the origin of the symbol m to denote slope. The consensus seems to be that it is not known why the letter m was chosen. JReid Answer has 4 votes. JReid 21 year member replies Answer has 4 votes. M in equations is short for the Greek letter Mu. I'm guessing that in that particular instance m indicates a multiplier of x. The letter m stands for slope because it comes from the French word monter, to climb.

Brainyblonde Answer has 11 votes. Brainyblonde 21 year member replies Answer has 11 votes. Currently voted the best answer.

Why call slope m has been a question that has been researched by math historians but has not been answered definitively yet. Erica Voolich Many people have been taught that it comes from the French, "monter", to climb. I think this is an "urban legend". John Conway Former Mathematics book writer, M. Risi answered "In our system, the first letters of the alphabet, a, b , c So it was a parameter and that is why we used m.

Risi plainly wasn't the first person to use "m" in this connection. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 9 months ago.

Active 2 years, 4 months ago. Viewed 2k times. Aryabhata Jim Jim 5 5 silver badges 14 14 bronze badges. There are a number of very good answers there. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Clive Newstead Clive Newstead